US open: Stocks little changed ahead of FOMC minutes
US stocks opened lower on Wednesday ahead of the publication of the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting as the main indices struggled to build on record closes in the previous session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both fell at the opening 0.1% to 20,712 and 2,362.34 respectively, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.2% to 5,856.
On Tuesday, all three indices closed at fresh records, boosted by a strong showing in the retail sector after well-received earnings from Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Macy’s.
At 1545 GMT, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were flat at 20,760.70, 2,63.90 and 5,860.70, respectively.
Meanwhile, oil prices retreated with West Texas Intermediate down 1.4% to $53.54 a barrel and Brent crude 1.43% lower at $55.87.
In currency markets, the dollar was flat against the pound at 0.8022, rose 0.11% versus the euro to 0.9501 and fell 0.34% against the yen to 113.29.
Investors are eyeing the minutes of the Fed Reserve meeting held in December when it hiked interest rates for the first time in 10 years by 25 basis points to target range between 0.50% and 0.75% and said there would be a further three hikes in 2017. There have been suggestions that the Fed may raise rates at its next meeting on 15 March.
Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said: “Prior to Janet Yellen’s testimony before Congress last week, investors had all but written off the possibility that we’ll see a rate hike in March but the repeated insistence from the chair and numerous other officials since that a hike is on the table, appears to have had the desired impact."
"That said, the odds of a rate hike are still well below the level that many see as being necessary for the Fed to actually trigger such a move – generally seen as above 70% - so there’s still plenty of work to be done if the markets are going to fully buy in."
"If a hike in March is in fact is a strong possibility then we’ll want to see a strong consensus indicating so in the minutes, otherwise there may be very little that they can actually add. It may therefore be Jerome Powell – a permanent voter on the FOMC – who has a greater influence on expectations when he speaks today.”
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes will be published at 1900 GMT.
On the corporate front, Toll Brothers gained 5.88% despite posting a 3.8% fall in quarterly profit, but the housebuilder also lifted its delivery forecast.
Dish Network rose 1.08% after the satellite TV provider swung to a third quarter profit beating expectations.
Bristol-Myers Squibb edged up 1.35% following a report that Carl Icahn has bought a stake in the pharmaceuticals company.
On the down side, solar panel maker First Solar was 6.88% weaker despite posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and sales late on Tuesday.
After the close, results are due from Tesla, Square Inc, Fitbit, HP and L Brands.
On the data front, sales of US existing homes rose more than expected in January, to a 10-year high.
Sales were up 3.3% to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 5.69m from an upwardly-revised 5.51m in December 2016. This was ahead of analysts’ expectations for a more modest increase to 5.54m. The January sales pace is 3.8% higher than a year ago and above November 2016.